ers scoured 22,000 square miles of water but with little to know evidence, the coast guard is exploring the possibility that there was no family in the first place. >> we respond first to possible distress and then we deal with everything else later. so if the possibility of a hoax exists, of course, as of the time that was not our concern. our concern was there's possibly four lives in peril and we need to rescue them. >> in addition to the coast guard taking part in the search efforts, the u.s. navy national guard california national guard and small boat crews from station monterey all too long part. the case is not closed though. the coast guard will continue to investigate this on an administrative level. on yerba buena island, cate caugiran, kpix 5. a bay area couple reported missing in peru was seen recently. video on peruvian tv shows

jamie neal and garrett hand on a bus to lima last month. they left in november last year to take a cycling trip in south america. they were keeping in touch with friends and family on facebook but the last messages were more than a month ago. last night, kpix 5 talked with the operator of a hostel in northeastern peru and she told us that the couple stayed at her hostel twice and that they were there as recently as february 16. she thinks they might still in the area on a spiritual retreat. meanwhile, the families want answers. >> somebody knows where garrett and jamie neal are, someone is with them somewhere. so we need them to call us. we need them to come home. >> the family recently posted on facebook that there's still been no financial activity, no social media activity, and no communication at all from the couple. but they say they are holding out hope. an oyster farm in the point reyes national seashore has won a break from a federal court. a panel of three judges from

the ninth circuit court of appeals granted an injunction that will allow the drakes bay oyster company to stay open for the time being. the owners are challenging a decision by interior secretary ken salazar to deny a permit extension. >> they can rule at that point only that we can't be shut down while the lawsuit's under way and then at the end of the lawsuit, which will be however long, a year, year and a half, then final decisions will be made. >> the appeals court cited hardship for some 30 workers who would lose their jobs. the court put the case on a fast track schedule. arguments will be heard in san francisco in mid-may. a foam fight in san jose. this afternoon the city council will vote on a ban on styrofoam at large restaurants. environmental groups back the proposal but as elissa harrington tells us owners are local eateries are unhappy about it. >> reporter: they are your to- go boxes, doggie bags and hot cups of coffee but styrofoam food packaging could soon be

history in san jose. the city is considering banning polystyrene foodwear. a city council member says foam accounts for between 7 to 15% of litter in their creeks. >> it doesn't biodegrade. it's not recyclable. and as a result, it remains in our landfills if we're lucky and if we're not, it ends up in the bellies of a lot of wildlife. >> reporter: if passed, san jose would join more than 70 other cities in california that have already ditched styrofoam including san francisco, berkeley and palo alto. it would also be the largest city to do so. some restaurant workers in town worry how this might affect them. >> that's what we use every, single day. >> reporter: alejandro simone at a bar downtown is concerned about the price difference between styrofoam and an alternative. a trickle-down effect it might have if it costs his managers too much more. >> they are going to pay more for the other things to use,

they are going to start cutting hours and salary. >> reporter: he says a market analyst found it would only be a few extra pennies a plate. and he stresses the long-term environmental benefits priceless. >> we all recognize that these impacts are going to cost our children and grandchildren. and the question is, are we going to take responsibility today to make the earth a better place? >> reporter: the city will vote on this ban later on today. if they do decide to move forward, larger restaurants will begin phasing these out in january of next year, smaller restaurants not until 2015. in san jose, elissa harrington, kpix 5. the senate has given the green light to move forward with the nomination of chuck hagel for defense secretary. a 71-27 vote ended the gop filibuster. republicans had opposed hagel questioning his support for israel and suggesting he was too willing to compromise with iran. the senate could vote again later today to confirm hagel,

who has the necessary votes for approval. one thing congress can't agree on, automatic spending cuts set to kick in, in three days. the cuts would have wide reaching effects especially on the military. >> if we not to do have the resources to train and equip the force, our soldiers, our young men and women are the ones who will pay the price potentially with their lives. >> half of the $85 billion in cuts would come from defense. the rest would trickle down through government programs hitting education hard. as many as 40,000 public schoolteachers could lose their jobs. bay area schools are already facing budget uncertainty and tonight, the san francisco unified school district will vote to approve initial layoffs to more than 200 educators. wall street is bouncing back from its biggest one day sell-off since november. the dow sank 216 points while the nasdaq fell 45. but today, we are back in the

green. you can see the dow is up 105. coming up, serious side effects of losing sleep. dr. kim explains how a lack of sleep can alter your genetic makeup. >> and a healthy diet breakthrough but the study is halted. why experts say they couldn't ethically keep going. >> hi, i'm meteorologist lawrence karnow in the kpix 5 weather center. almost feeling like spring outside today but could we soon see some rain? we'll talk about that coming up.

in today's health watch... there's new evidence showing how the chemical b-p-a can harm children's health. b-p-a is used to make plastic in today's healthwatch, there's new evidence showing how the chemical bpa can harm children's health. bpa is used to make plastic containers. a study at duke medical school found it may disrupt the gene that's critical to the

development of the brain. the findings raise new questions about whether bpa contributes to developmental disorders including a certain type of autism. a starting wake-up call about sleep deprivation. sleeping fewer than six hours a night, even for as little as a week, can literally change your dna. dr. kim mulvihill with the eye- opening report. >> reporter: too little sleep can really change a person. >> tired, grouchy. >> cranky. >> it's hard to focus. >> reporter: well, a new report reveals that change may be more profound than you think. >> i'm becoming my evil twin. >> reporter: in a british study, 26 volunteers slept fewer than 6 hours a night for just a week. subsequent blood tests revealed a startling change to their dna. this short-term sleep loss disrupted the activity of more than 700 of their genes, genes critical to stress, inflammation, metabolism, your biological clock, even how we

feet disease. >> it demonstrates the need for sleep. >> reporter: the doctor is medical director at the stanford sleep medical center. he says the new findings are a real wake-up call. >> it just underscores the importance for the need for gay good amount of sleep during the night, to try and set a regular bedtime and waking time and to maximize the amount of sleep that you have during the night. >> reporter: scientists already know how too little sleep can affect your heart function and how your brain works. now this new study reveals how it may alter your genes. researchers hope it will open your eyes to closing them for at least eight hours a night. >> now that you've told me that, i'm going to try and get some more sleep today. >> reporter: try. always easier said than done. the researchers did not study how long it took for the genes to return to their normal levels. but dr. kim tells us for every two or three days you're sleep deprived, it can take a week for you just to feel normal. well, yesterday we told you about a study showing the benefits of a mediterranean

diet overeating strictly low fat foods. researchers in spain tracked people on each diet for five years but they stopped suddenly and now we know it's because the results were so telling. scientists said they couldn't ethically withhold the information from the public any longer. >> the study was interrupted because the results were so good, so the people monitoring the study said we can't continue. >> the study found people on the mediterranean diet had a 30% lower risk of heart attack and stroke. a new california license plate is about to hit the road. it features farming with the yellow sunburst over a field of crops. california is the nation's leading farm state. the california agriculture license plate is the first new specialty license plate in 11 years. proceeds from this plate will go to the national future farmers of america, 4h and other agriculture educational programs. still ahead a deadly storm moves through the midwest leaving white-out conditions

and icy roads. what else is creating treacherous conditions? >> and getting everything you pay for even down to the last drop. the tricks to emptying out that bottle.

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texas i taking a big hit by this blizzard. the gusts have these planes swaying from side to side as they try to touch down. imagine being a passenger in that plane. two airports have been completely shut down because of the storm. amarillo international and charles wheeler airport in kansas city, missouri. they are closed and others across the country are seeing delays. melissa rainey shows us why. >> reporter: whipping winds, white-out conditions and treacherous roads. for people in the plains, this weather is like winter storm deja vu. just last week a storm dumped 22 inches of snow on parts of kansas. now they are dealing with another one. >> this one could be much more treacherous to travel in and we just ask you to exercise that more abundance of caution. >> reporter: in kansas city people are still trying to dig out of the snow dumped on them last week. and now, they're facing more. >> you can see behind me, what

we're dealing with. >> reporter: officials are pleading with residents to stay off the roads. >> we declared a stat of emergency for kansas city, missouri. >> reporter: the storm walloped the texas panhandle. this video from the national weather service shows what those who venture out have to deal with. strong winds and poor visibility. from what they're calling a crippling historic blizzard. i'm melissa rainey reporting. i love living in the bay area. have i said that today? >> isn't it amazing? i know. here we are looking at all the sunshine in the bay area and other parts of the country getting walloped. >> they are. >> and this is another storm system that's moving through. it's affecting chicago, as well. they have some snow coming down. they have some air travel delays there, as well. likely going to see more snow and all that headed out toward the northeast again, they are all going to get pounded. we are enjoying sunshine here under high pressure. we have that semi permanent ridge here since about january that's really settled in overhead so we're enjoying

spring-like conditions today. 63 degrees in santa rosa, 60 san jose, 63 in livermore and 62 degrees in concord. as we look toward the afternoon it will stay nice and sunny all around the bay area with some very mild temperatures. mostly clear tonight. and a warming trend still in effect that we could see some 70s toward the latter part of the week. if are wondering why you're sneezing, we have a reason. pollen count is running on the moderate side. a lot of trees are now blooming. you will see pollen on your cars blowing around. if we had rain it would clean the atmosphere but that's not happening. high pressure still sitting in bring some very might conditions. the storm track lifting to the north, they will see more rain in the pacific northwest. we're going too keep things dry here for now. the best chance for rainfall, not much, is saturday night into early sunday morning. 44 degrees lake tahoe, 58 monterey bay. i think we're looking good

around the bay today. plenty of sunshine some mild temperatures. 64 in san jose. 65 in cupertino. cool 57 though in half moon bay. and 58 degrees in pacifica. east bay temperatures as high as 67 in brentwood. 67 in fairfield. and 65 degrees in the napa valley. and as you look to the north bay, we'll see plenty of sunshine about 66 degrees. 64 in kentfield. 58 in san francisco. overnight lows chilly in spots, 30s and 40s for the most part, thus chilly temperatures early on. tomorrow it's going to be sunny and bright in the afternoon. those temperatures warming up into the 60s and maybe even some 70s. more clouds and cooler temperatures expected over the weekend and again a slight chance of sprinkles overnight on saturday night into sunday. but not going to be much. probably not measurable but that's about all we have to work with for the next five to seven days. >> you know i love that kind of weather but we need the moisture. >> we are seeing 80% of normal rainfall right now. the season isn't over.

but it's getting late. we have to get something going soon. >> you thank you. when it comes to shampoo, lotion, even the bottle of ketchup, a quarter of your product is stuck in the bottle. kpix 5 consumerwatch reporter julie watts shows us some new ways to get everything you pay for. >> reporter: the label promises healthy glowing skin. it also promises more than 20 ounces of lotion inside. but good luck pumping it out. all we could get was 17 ounces. 15% stuck in the bottle. the same percentage left behind in this moisturizer. and it turns out, that's actually pretty good. >> up to 25% could be stuck in the bottom with any pump. >> reporter: tom hayward studies packaging for personal care products. he says pump bottles are the worst offenders especially with thick lotions. >> the viscosity creates a vortex. >> reporter: lots gets left behind in other containers, as well. tests show between 2 and 10% of

products get stuck in tubes, jars and squeeze bottles. >> it's annoying. >> it's frustrating but i have learned to work around it. >> reporter: now, there are many tricks to reaching the unreachable. snipping, scraping, shaking, and, of course, adding water to the remnants to use the bubbly solution. but there are also a slew of new products to help you get the last drop like this last drop makeup spatula. and tom hayward's creation, my bottle. it holds them upside-down to let gravity do the work. >> i use about four bottles less a year of my lotion and about 3 bottles less of my hair gel. >> reporter: a win-win that tom says means more usable product more money in your pocket and less in the landfill. julie watts, kpix 5. some good tips there. well, we're still in winter time and tony and his daughter stephanie are in the kitchen

serving up cold weather comfort food. >> we are going to make a delicious peasant food. the star is going to be escarole. it's in the market now. great value to it. it is a winter vegetable loaded with flavor and nutritional value. when you buy it green with the white bottoms. steph, what are we doing? >> what i also like this is we made it spicy, red pepper place in, extra virgin olive oil and red pepper flakes inside of olive oil and just let it marinade in there. canellini beans, san marzano tomatoes and sausage. >> and potatoes. potatoes are optional. i like the starch. we cook the sausage before and put it in the pot. the escarole is nice large sizes which i like. i don't want them too small. oh, look how hearty that is. let's finish it off. >> only because it's spicy. right on top. and that's it. stephanie -- >> looks great. >> this whole pot is going to

go, bye-bye in the studio real quick. thank you, bella. enjoy. bye-bye. >> looks good! when we come back, new sleeves and a higher income line. who doctored the first lady's oscar dress.

i know. i know i need to quit this. - well, how about... - that smokers' helpline? yeah, they can give me a plan. - help me through the rough spots. - so you're ready to... quit? everyone wants me to quit-- my doctor, my wife the dog. - not good for the dog. - anyone else? hmm? what? anyone else want you to quit? me! i want me to quit. tdd# 800-933-4833 - ( rings ) - woman: smokers' helpline. oh, hi, it's me. different in iran.. state news there showed a more covered up first lady.. the photo is clearly altered, to michelle obama's surprise oscar appearance looked difference in iran. state news showed her covered up. the photo is altered to include

sleeves and a higher neckline. iran has laws that restrict showing images of the female body in the media. the white house by the way hasn't commented. some new findings are putting a spotlight on young women and their chances of developing advanced breast cancer. dr. kim looks into why. that's coming up at 5:00. all right, lawrence, one little last check of weather? >> weather is looking fantastic! i keep looking for raindrops, can't find any. a lot of sunshine into the afternoon, get outside and enjoy it. it is going to be warm up into the 60s. >> all right. sounds good. that's it for kpix 5 news at noon. have a great afternoon, everyone. captions by: caption colorado comments@captioncolorado.com

>> taylor: liam's coming back. >> steffy: liam... >> brooke: where's hope? >> liam: gone. >> brooke: what do you mean, "gone"? >> liam: i mean she left. >> brooke: you just let her go? >> liam: yeah, brooke, i did.

>> taylor: liam, you made the right choice. you two have a lot of plans to make, so i'll let you do that. >> hope: [ sighs ] ♪